EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University (MSU) will install a new video system that uses artificial intelligence to detect threats and count people.
The school hired a consulting firm to assess its response to the February 2023 mass shooting that claimed the lives of three students. The firm recommended that MSU use AI to monitor the campus to “enhance your ability to identify abandoned packages, large groups, and high activity in unusual areas at inappropriate times.”
The school ultimately selected Omnicast from Genetec. The software uses analytics to detect barrier breaches, track individuals as they move across campus, count crowd size, and read vehicle license plates, according to over 1,200 pages of bidding and contract documents obtained by Bridge Michigan through a Freedom of Information Act request.
MSU hired Grand Rapids-based Moss Audio Corp. to install and configure the system under a $5.2 million purchase order finalized in June. Broken down, costs include $2.9 million for equipment, $1.8 million to license the software, and $412,837 for the first 26 weeks of labor. The software will collect and analyze data from about 2,000 campus cameras and monitor door locks and access points in real-time. The project is expected to take two to three years to complete.
The university is also building a new Security Operations Center (SOC) where law enforcement officials will monitor all campus cameras, alarms, and other equipment. It will also give MSU a “direct line of contact with Ingham County 911 Central Dispatch, 24/hours a day, 7 days a week,” Dana Whyte, a spokesperson for the Department of Police and Public Safety, told The Bridge.
“Previously, there were different camera systems throughout campus. The police department operated some of the cameras, other departments operated their own cameras, and so on. Now we’re in the process of putting all the cameras and security technology underneath the Department of Police and Public Safety,” said Whyte. “If there is a door propped open, an alarm would go off in the security operations center and a camera would automatically turn to where that door is so that the staff who is working in the security operations center has the ability to see what they need to do for that situation.”
The SOC is anticipated to cost $4.6 million and will be completed in the coming months. The center is currently running out of an interim location, according to WOODTV.
MSU Assures Proper Use of AI Video Surveillance Technology
AI technology continues to be hotly debated due to privacy and bias concerns. Whyte said MSU issued guidance last year that encourages “responsible and ethical practices” to ensure AI technology is used appropriately.
The school is also considering additional protocols for AI use in a security context, Whyte told The Bridge.
“The department values holding ourselves to a higher standard within the industry of public safety,” she said. “When creating new policies, we want to make sure that we are keeping community feedback and recommendations in mind, in order to create a more inclusive and safe campus, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.”
The firm that suggested the adoption of the technology also urged MSU to create a “video retention policy” and to agree on a “video surveillance philosophy.” Whyte said the school is currently finalizing a video security systems policy.
MSU has made other security upgrades in the last 14 months. Most of the more than 800 classroom doors on campus can now be locked from the inside and a key must be used to unlock them from the outside. Doors that have lockdown buttons near them will now automatically engage their locks when the lockdown buttons are pushed, and first responders will be notified.
The school has also restricted access to buildings across campus, expanded its emergency notification system, and installed walk-through metal detectors at Spartan Stadium, Munn Ice Arena, and the MSU Tennis Center.
